She told Belfast Live: "I've known about Luke's condition from different people, and Michelle [O'Neill] actually held her Balmoral Breakfast morning last year in aid of the Leap For Luke charity.

"I heard Claire speaking at the 25th anniversary of Dungannon Enterprise Centre event where she works and she was just amazing, so inspirational.

"She's such a strong person and I don't think there was a person there listening to her in that room that didn't want to cry, but she wasn't crying, she was so positive.

"I just thought, 'Luke can't even jump on a bouncy castle, but I can jump out of a plane' and that's a massive fear for me but it is just a fear.

Claire with her son Luke

"But in comparison to the fear that I would have if I knew that every day was a battle to try and save my child's life, there is just no comparison."

Linda felt as a mother herself she wanted to do something to help support Claire and Luke.

She added: "If I can do anything to help, then I just thought, 'why would you not do it?'. As a mother you just feel so lucky, and as a mother to be able to do something to help another mother that's probably what motivated me as much as anything.

Left to right Ryan O'Neill, son of Sinn Fein Assembly leader Michelle O'Neill with his mum and her fellow party candidate for Mid Ulster Linda Dillon and her daughter Sorcha (Image: Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com)

"As a mother you do always feel an affiliation to other mummies in particular those who have children who are suffering with any health issues, and you do just feel so lucky. So you do feel 'if I can help another mother in any way then that's what I want to do'."

The former chair of the Mid-Ulster Council says she is apprehensive about the tandem jump but knows the cause is very worthy.

She admitted: "I am nervous about it but lots of people have been pulling together to help and some of the group of ones locally have already completed it last weekend so I've been hearing all about it.

"One of my party colleagues here as well, Caoimhe Archibald, has also completed a sky dive before and she was telling me about it.

"She said she didn't enjoy the first few seconds when you're free-falling but after that it's fantastic and I know I will feel brilliant when I've done it."